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“The Clothes they Came to Us In” runs May 16 to June 15, Thursdays through Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Studio B at 39A E. Philadelphia Ave. in Boyertown. To learn more about Jane Ammon’s work visit janeammonphotographer.com

BOYERTOWN — A sense of style is often passed from mother to daughter, but when it comes to Jane Ammon, a certain outfit belonging to her daughter Madeline inspired a unique exhibit.

Madeline, now nearly 9 years old, was adopted from China by Ammon and her husband Erik six years ago when Madeline was 2 and their biological son Connor was 3.

On the fifth anniversary of her daughter’s adoption, Ammon wanted to commemorate the occasion by photographing Madeline with the clothes she was brought to them in. Madeline posed with the clothes strung out behind her on a clothesline and Ammon posted the image on her blog.

The Internet community’s reaction to the picture was tremendous and from there the idea for her exhibit, “The Clothes They Came to Us In” took hold and flourished. The exhibit features portraits of adopted children posed with the clothes they had with them when they came to their parents. It will be on display from May 16 to June 15 at Studio B in Boyertown.

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“The clothes are so important because other than the small file the agency gave us, it’s the only part of her history that we have,” Ammon said.

Ammon, a professional photographer since 2009, reached out to other parents with adopted children, mostly through Facebook, to offer them the chance to be a part of her project.

“There was such an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, it was really amazing. Last I checked that picture has between two and three thousand hits,” Ammon said. “People were so excited, they couldn’t wait to be a part of it.”

To date, she’s photographed 30 children including her daughter Madeline. The subjects range between 1 and 18 years old, although there is also one adult profiled in the project. Like her daughter, most of the subjects were adopted internationally, and primarily from China.

“I want to start conversations about international adoption and show people that it’s not as scary as they think,” said Ammon. “But I also want the kids to think their stories are important and feel empowered to tell their story and be heard.”

And while the clothes get the conversation started, Ammon is sure to place the focus on the children.

“In the pictures I like the clothes to be an accessory, kind of next to them or behind them. The clothes are still in the picture, but it’s really about the kids,” said Ammon.

And Ammon’s biggest concern is the children, especially when it comes to her own.

“I asked Maddie’s permission before I even started the project, and she’s been on board ever since. She’s come with me to a couple of the (photo) shoots and I’ve had her input all along.” Ammon said. “And Connor is very excited and open about it, too. The more we do things like this together, the closer we get as a family.”

It’s important to Ammon and her husband to make certain their children are comfortable and open about being part of a unique family.

“We’re a mixed race family, we like to call it ‘today’s modern family.’ And we want kids from other non-traditional families to feel like they can be heard,” she added.

Ammon’s daughter Madeline is certainly feeling heard when it comes to her role in the exhibit.

“She only has one request, that her portrait gets it’s own wall,” said Ammon. “And she’ll definitely get it.”